Mailbox



Oct. 8, 1963 c. G. ALLAN 3,106,335

MAILBOX 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 30, 1959 FIG. I

\ CHARLES G. ALLAN 9 BY ATTORNEYS Oct. 8, 1963 c. G; ALLAN 3, 0 ,33

MAILBOX Filed Nov. 30, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. CHARLES G. ALLAN BY ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,106,335 MAILBOX Charles G. Allan, Ashtahula, Ohio, assignor to Jennie M. Taylor and Santford G. Taylor, joint tenants, Ashtabula, Ohio Filed Nov. 30, 1959, Ser. No. 856,136 l'Claim. ((11. 23217) This invention, relating as indicated to a rural delivery mailbox, is particularly directed to a box having a door on each end of the box and in which the mail is accessible from the carrier side and the patron side. The doors of the box are in axial alignment and provide full access to the interior of the box.

In general in connection with rural delivery boxes of the ordinary type, it frequently happens that a person desiring to pick up the mail deposited in the box by the rural delivery carrier must step into the path of a heavily traveled highway, and because of this there have been terrible accidents in the past.

This invention is directed to a structure that will obviate the necessity of stepping into a roadway or at least adjacent the side of the roadway because one end is provided for the patron 'to remove the mail and a separate end for the deposit of mail by the carrier. The ends of the box are in axial alignment and pivoted outwardly therefrom.

In general in connection with rural delivery boxes, ac- :cess for the purpose of picking up mail must be made from the carrier side, and the door must be capable of pivoting downwardly and secured by a latch to meet certain standards set up by the Postmaster General, but at the same time the door must not be spring-urged to closure or the mail carrier will have difiiculty depositing the mail in the box. At the same time, the sides of the box must conform to certain specifications, including the incorporation of a fiagstaif, which do not form a part of this specification.

This invention is particularly directed to the standard rural-free-delivery mailbox which incorporates a full door on the opposite end of the box with a full catch and is spring-urged to closure. Operational conditions involved in the delivery and pickup of mail necessitate this arrangement. Each of the doors is similar except for this particular feature, in that the patrons door is urged to closure by a spring. The reasons for this construction are to be further explained.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved rural delivery mailbox for depositing of mail in one end, the carriers end, and removing it from the opposite end, the patrons end, without the necessity ofa person stepping into the highway or adjacent thereto when removing mail.

A further object of this invention is to provide a rural delivery mailbox having an opening on one end but with the rear door held firmly in place by a resiliently urged spring so that it may be maintained in closed position when the mail is being placed in the box through the front door or carrier door.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention then consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claim; the following descriptionsetting forth in detail one approved method of carrying out the invention, such disclosed method, however, constituting but one of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be used.

In the drawings:

7 FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the mailbox, with one door and door catch partially in section;

7 against the elements, such as rain, snow, etc.

FIG. 2 is a rear view partially in section along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, showing the rear door spring;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary bottom view of the box along the line 3-3 of FIG. 11; and

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the flagstaff soc'ket along the line 44 of FIG. 1.

In general it may be saidthat rural delivery mailboxes are of rather standardized construction on a rectangularver-tical plan having rounded sides that permit e-fiieient handling and storage of mail and provide at the same time rather easy opening with fairly tight secureness boxes may be made of galvanized iron or aluminum, as desired, and they generally have a standardized type of door latch of which the Postmaster General approves.

This invention is directed towards a novel type of rural delivery mailbox in which both ends of the box may be used, one end having a standard type rural mailbox door and the other end, or patrons end, having an identical door which is resiliently mounted with a coil spring around the pivot. This is necessary because in the operation and use of a rural delivery mailbox for the deposit and collection of mail, the mail carrier must have easy access so 'that "he can pick up and deposit it without holding the door of the box with one hand and depositing or picking up mail with the other hand. However, in using the box the carrier may be inclined to throw or shove a package in the box, such as third or fourth class parcels of considerable weight or size, in which event if the door were improperly latched, it would fly open.

The mailbox embodying this invention and illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 of the drawings is a rectangular box having a curved, top side with front and rear doors 10, a base 11 and a curved sheet forming sides 12 as well as a roof 13. The sides and roof need not be made of a single piece of material, but the arched roof should be of sufficient length and size to provide adequate closure at each end and to prevent rain, sleet and other of the elements from seeping into the box through the doors 10 at either end. Generally the material for the box should be rust resistant, such as galvanized iron or aluminum.

The overlapping roof is fitted at each end with a standard type of friction closure device or door latch 14 which snaps over and against the duplicate attachment or handle 15 on the door 10 at the respective end and holds it shut. The door may be released by pulling with a downward motion on the duplicate attachment or handle 15 fastened to the door. In the case of the door on the rear of the mailbox, the force needed to open that door is substantially greater due to the spring 16 attached to the base of the rear door as at 17. The tension on this spring is sufiiciently great so that the mail thrown into or passed rapidly into the front of the box and falling against the rear door on the box will not be discharged onto the ground by the inadvertent opening of the door on the rear of the mailbox. The spring 16 may be of any type, but it is shown here as a coil spring having extension arms 30 and 31 attached to the base and door, respectively, for holding the spring in position. The door is positioned so that tension increases as it pivots outwardly. Each of the doors 10 has an encompassing flange member 32 which fits outwardly of the sides and roof portion in order to seal the door on the ends of the mailbox.

The door is provided with a convenient and efficient flag or signal device 18 to indicate to the rural carrier or to 0 the patron that the mail is to be picked up or has been These by means of which slot the signal pivots on a mounting 22 and may be placed parallel to the box or anchored in the well 23 which supports it in an upright position when the box is in use.

FIG. 1 illustrates the flag signaling device in both positions, one in solid lines and the other in dotted lines. The mailbox is adapted to be secured on a post and said post will have a rectangularly shaped wooden platform secured thereto, and this, in turn, is secured to the recessed underside of the mailbox. The recessed underside is generally shown at 25 with a plurality of openings or apertures 26 to permit the box to be secured to the rectangular wooden top.

FIG. 4 shows the corrugated underside of the mailbox as at 27.

The particular advantage of this box is that it has greater versatility but still provides proper protection for the mail deposited therein and collected therefrom.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof, variations and modifications may be resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from the principles of the invention. All of these variations and modifications are considered to be within the true spirit and scope of the present invention as disclosed in the foregoing description and defined by the appended claim.

I claim:

A rural mailbox having a pair of sides and a curved roof portion in a continuous piece, said sides being sub stantially parallel to one another, a floor having a rough corrugated section to support mail off the valleys of the corrugation which might have moisture thereon, means in connection with said sides comprising a depending ledge and also in combination with said floor to mate a block of wood for easy fastening through said sides into the wood to support the box, a pair of substantially identical doors, one for the mailman and one for the boxholder, one at each end of said box having upper portions that are curved to match the curvature of said roof portion, each of said doors being pivotally secured to the base of said box and providing a reasonably tight closure between the sides and (roof of the box and said door; friction latch means in connection with said doors comprising a handle member having a bulbous portion extending above the door and a latching member on the box having a mating portion for said bulbous portion to retain the same when frictionally engaged for securing the doors to the box, and means in combination with the door for the boxholder for resiliently urging said door to close, said means comprising a resilient coil spring having a portion conneeted to the box and to the door, whereby mail may be deposited at one end of said box and the door closed and mail removed at the opposite end, and whereby an improved safety rural-free mailbox is provided having separate doors for delivery and collection of mail without endangering the boxholder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 627,635 Bates June 27, 1899 907,787 Gullick Dec. 29, 1908 1,564,073 Johnson Dec. 1, 1925 2,068,275 Luss Jan. 19, 1937 2,58 ,880 Price Jan. 8, 1952 

